Spain: Spain adopts new safety measures after train accident

Madrid. Almost a week after the train accident that left 69 dead, the Spanish government has decided on measures to improve safety in rail transport. The left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that an aid package of 30 million euros for victims and relatives was also approved at the weekly Council of Ministers meeting.

Two high-speed trains collided on Wednesday last week near the municipality of Urda, around 130 kilometers south of Madrid. A train operated by the state railway company Renfe ran into a stationary train operated by the private operator Iryo from behind.

It was the second serious train accident in Spain in just nine months. In January, 46 people were killed in a collision between two high-speed trains in Adamuz, Andalusia.

Fewer trains will run between Madrid and Seville in the future

While in the case of Adamuz, one of the causes is a broken track, the investigation into the accident in Urda focuses primarily on the failure of the LZB train control system and possible errors in the instructions from the control center of the network operator Adif.

The number of trains between Madrid and Seville will be reduced until the new European train control system ERTMS goes into operation there, as Transport Minister Óscar Puente explained. If the current LZB system fails, a second employee in the control center will have to check and confirm the instructions to the train drivers. This is intended to prevent trains from continuing to travel despite unclear route conditions.

All 69 fatalities have now been identified

In addition, the number of staff in the control centers is to be increased and the working conditions of the employees are to be improved. The government also decided to cap prices for alternative means of transport during the closure of the Madrid-Seville route involved in the accident. This is intended to prevent excessive costs for travelers as a result of the train cancellation.

The aid package includes direct state aid, advances on subsequent compensation payments and a doubling of benefits from statutory passenger insurance. Victims and their relatives should be looked after through specially set up contact points. There is also a special provision for temporary incapacity for work for injured people.

All 69 fatalities - 40 men and 29 women - have now been identified, authorities said. Germans and minors are therefore not included. 54 people who died were Spanish nationals and four others were US citizens. Two each came from Japan and Australia, the others from Canada, France, Czech Republic, Portugal, Argentina, Mexico and Tunisia. 37 of the total of around 200 injured are still being treated in hospitals.